Lorenzo Romar: WSU has ‘most dangerous perimeter’ in Pac-10

And here you were, thinking Washington’s collection of 3-point shooters made the Huskies the most talented Pac-10 team from outside.

Lorenzo Romar apparently disagrees, though it could certainly be the case that he wasn’t factoring his own squad in when making the assessment on the Pac-10 coaches’ teleconference on Tuesday that Washington State has the “most dangerous perimeter in our league.”

The Huskies will find out on Sunday night, when they face WSU in Pullman to finish up the first half of the conference schedule.

And as Romar said, they’ll be contending with more than just Klay Thompson, who leads the league in scoring with 22.2 points per game.

“When you talk about Faisal Aden, Reggie Moore, Klay Thompson and Marcus Capers, those guys are really good on the perimeter,” Romar said. “I don’t think we have the luxury of just worrying about one or two guys. …It doesn’t help matters that DeAngelo Casto is playing the way he is. He’s improved offensively. I think that’s what makes them such a good offensive team, you can’t just concentrate on one or two guys.”

Washington State coach Ken Bone was equally diplomatic, especially when asked how his team is better equipped this season to handle Washington’s talent and athleticism.

“I’m not sure we are,” Bone said. “I think they’re a better team right now than they were last year when we played them. I’m hoping that with more experience, a lot of the (WSU) kids are back from last season. …I think with that maturity and experience, it’s helped out some games this year. I’m hoping it helps out again with Washington.”

Bone and Romar were both asked about their friendship, which began when the two were in college, continued when Romar hired Bone as an assistant upon taking the UW head coaching job, and still continues today now that they coach against each other at rival schools.

Their wives are friends. Their families are friends. But on the court?

“When that game starts, that friendship goes out the window,” Romar said. “Ken Bone is very, very competitive and fiery. When you go out there and play, you kind do forget about that. You respect each other, but you’re trying to do the best that you can and we’ll go after it.”

And knowing Bone doesn’t lend Romar any insight into how the second-year WSU coach might game plan for the Huskies. That’s how Romar sees it, anyway.

“Ken ran his own program for 12 years without me (and) the University of Washington,” Romar said. “When he was with us, he learned everything about us and our tendencies. He knows more about me than I know about him.”

What Bone certainly knows is how much of a boost his program would receive if the Cougars (14-6, 4-4 Pac-10) could upset No. 17 Washington on Sunday. WSU hasn’t beaten the Huskies since the Pac-10 finale in 2008.

“We don’t talk about it, but I think we all understand a win over a ranked team would be extremely helpful,” Bone said. “Washington’s really good, and they’re ranked and I don’t see that changing. They’re good. I don’t see them dropping out of the top 25, or even the top 20 this season. It would be a big win for our program if we could pull it off.”

Bone also took his turn heaping some praise on UW point guard Isaiah Thomas, who Bone said has turned into a more complete scorer in addition to improving his distribution skills.

“He’s showed increased improvement ever since he came out of high school,” Bone said. “It just seems like he keeps getting better and better as the weeks go on. What he’s shown this year is he’s not just a guy that can score, but he’s very, very good at creating shots for other guys. He also scores in a variety of ways now. He’s always been a great driver, getting to the rim, but he can really shoot the 3, too.”

Other highlights from Romar (and if you want the full rundown of Bone’s lengthy conference call session, Vince Grippi over at the Spokesman Review already has it summarized)…

Romar was asked about Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s progression, and cited the obvious three reasons for the senior forward’s improvement: maturity, Isaiah Thomas, and Aziz N’Diaye.

“I think he’s matured. He’s a senior. He’s grown. At the end of last year, he was playing really well then. Once he got going this year, he just picked up where he left off, better version.

“I think Isaiah Thomas has helped him, because Isaiah Thomas is really finding him and making life a little easier for him.

“Aziz N’Diaye is in the starting lineup. …Matthew doesn’t have to necessarily wrestle with the biggest guys night in and night out. I think all of that has turned out to help Matthew.”

Asked about playing Sunday night games to accommodate television broadcasts, Romar said it’s much less challenging if the visiting team is able to charter a flight back home so it can leave immediately after the game.

That’s what the Huskies will do on Sunday when they leave Pullman. But they couldn’t pull it off two weeks ago after a 7 p.m. Sunday game at California, eventually getting back into Seattle on Monday afternoon.

“I would say each school might be different,” Romar said. “We’re chartering back from Pullman, but I would think that would be something we might look at in the future if we have a 7 o’clock game. You’re doing that for television. If we could continue to do that and get back that night, it would be a lot easier, I’d think.”

California coach Mike Montgomery was less understanding.

“I don’t think that playing a Sunday night game helps much of anybody,” he said. “It changes your preparation, it changes your ability to get home. You shouldn’t do it unless you’re able to charter back home and get out of the city. I don’t think it’s a real positive deal. If you’re going to play on Sundays, let’s play earlier so you can get out of there and get home.”

Ryan Finley of the Arizona Daily Star is working on a story about Player Efficiency Ratings, and whether college coaches put much stock in them, so he asked the opinion of several Pac-10 coaches.

Romar’s response was similar to Bone’s, both saying that any statistic can help, but that none of them can measure things like heart, hustle, whether a guy rotates defensively, whether a guy contests shots, etc.

“I think it’s a great lesson, but I don’t think it’s the end-all solution to determining what a player brings to the table,” Romar said. “But it certainly has its place.”